The Poet Laureate has gone to his Shed

The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

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Poet Laureate Simon Armitage talks to guests about life, language and music in his shed.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is a former probation officer, DJ and poet celebrated for his witty and profound take on modern life. He writes in the shed in his garden, and in this podcast he invites guests to join him to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry and the countryside.

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The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed: Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen

BBC Radio 4 - The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed, Ian McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen joins Simon Armitage in his writing shed in the Pennines.

Simon Armitage opens the doors of his writing shed in the Pennine Hills to talk to Ian McKellen, whose acting career, spanning 7 decades,  includes creating Gandalf and Magneto.

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink , waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills, he's been working on a new kind of poem he's invented - the Flyku - inspired by the moths and butterflies he sees around him. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about creativity, music, art, sheds,  music, poetry  and the countryside.

To kick of the new series, Sir Ian McKellen, whose acting career spans seven decades joins Simon to talk  about everything from his early childhood in Wigan , creating the character of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, remembering Shakespearian lines and getting an Elvish  tattoo 

Produced by Susan Roberts

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